Kim Jong Nam died last week after being assaulted at an airport in the Malaysian capital.
KUALA LUMPUR:
Malaysian police said on Friday a preliminary report showed the murder of Kim Jong Nam was carried out with a highly toxic chemical known as VX nerve agent.
The police said swabs were taken from the eye and the face of a North Korean national by the chemistry department of Malaysia.
VX nerve agent, or S-2 Diisoprophylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate, is chemical weapon classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.
Kim, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last week while preparing to board a flight to Macau.
South Korean and US officials believe the killing was an assassination carried out by agents of the North to eliminate the elder half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar named the North Korean diplomat wanted for questioning as 44-year-old Hyon Kwang Song, and said he held the rank of second secretary at the embassy.
The police chief identified the Air Koryo staffer as Kim Uk Il, 37, and said another North Korean suspect wanted for questioning was Ri Ji U, but gave no further details.
He said all three were in Malaysia. "They're not in custody, they've been called in for assistance," Khalid told reporters in a news conference.
Police have stepped up security at the morgue where Kim Jong Nam's body is being held after an attempted break-in earlier this week, Khalid said. Malaysia has denied North Korea's request for the body to be handed over to its embassy directly.
Malaysia has so far identified a total of eight North Koreans suspected of being linked to killing.
One is in custody, along with two women - one Vietnamese, one Indonesian - believed to have carried out the fatal assault using a fast-acting poison.
Khalid said police "strongly believed" four other North Koreans were back in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, having fled Malaysia on the day of the attack.
The police said swabs were taken from the eye and the face of a North Korean national by the chemistry department of Malaysia.
VX nerve agent, or S-2 Diisoprophylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate, is chemical weapon classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.
Kim, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last week while preparing to board a flight to Macau.
South Korean and US officials believe the killing was an assassination carried out by agents of the North to eliminate the elder half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar named the North Korean diplomat wanted for questioning as 44-year-old Hyon Kwang Song, and said he held the rank of second secretary at the embassy.
The police chief identified the Air Koryo staffer as Kim Uk Il, 37, and said another North Korean suspect wanted for questioning was Ri Ji U, but gave no further details.
He said all three were in Malaysia. "They're not in custody, they've been called in for assistance," Khalid told reporters in a news conference.
Police have stepped up security at the morgue where Kim Jong Nam's body is being held after an attempted break-in earlier this week, Khalid said. Malaysia has denied North Korea's request for the body to be handed over to its embassy directly.
Malaysia has so far identified a total of eight North Koreans suspected of being linked to killing.
One is in custody, along with two women - one Vietnamese, one Indonesian - believed to have carried out the fatal assault using a fast-acting poison.
Khalid said police "strongly believed" four other North Koreans were back in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, having fled Malaysia on the day of the attack.
© Thomson Reuters 2017
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